Date:14/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/14/stories/2008031460471200.htm

National

Maharashtra plans law against money-lenders

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is contemplating a law forbidding private money-lenders from acquiring land pledged by farmers for borrowing loans and requiring them to return such land to the original owners if already taken over.

Under the proposed law, the government will have powers to force the money-lenders to return the land to the original owners, said Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in the Assembly here on Thursday. He was replying to a debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the joint session of the bicameral legislature.

Noting that the money-lenders were giving loans with exorbitant rate of interest against sale deeds to be invoked in case the farmer failed to repay, Mr. Deshmukh said there would be a provision enabling farmers to make a suo motu disclosure to the government about such borrowings in the past and seek the government’s intervention.

He said the ban on the money-lenders, both licensed and unlicensed, acquiring the land of their debtors would be comprehensive and on the line of the law that prohibits one from buying tribal land.

Mr. Deshmukh said the Centre was examining anomalies in its scheme of waiving farm loans and had not finalised it. “But the State would supplement the scheme at its own cost if need be.”

He said the government would set up a non-government commission, on the lines of the Sachar Commission, to study and recommend welfare measures for the Muslims in the State.

Priority would be given to the large Muslim population in 47 towns and three districts.